When people were in Qin, they captured Zhao and questioned Qin.

Chapter 48 Sowing Discord

The following morning, Zhao Heng was personally escorted to the palace gate by Li Lingcheng.

The square paved with bluestone outside the palace gate was empty, with only a few carriages waiting.

Luan Ding and Ji Cheng stood beside a carriage. When they saw Zhao Heng's figure in the distance, they were both delighted, but they quickly composed themselves and waited solemnly.

Li Lingcheng escorted Zhao Heng to the carriage before stopping, bowing respectfully, and whispering with a smile, "Young Master's response this time was measured and skillful, showing promising signs of composure. Although His Majesty did not explicitly state it, I could clearly see it, and His Majesty is truly pleased."

Zhao Heng returned the greeting with a cupped-hand salute, bowing even deeper than Li Lingcheng: "If it weren't for Lingcheng's help yesterday, I fear I would have lost my composure in the palace. I will remember this kindness."

He wasn't just being polite; the timing of handing over the handkerchief yesterday, and Li Lingcheng's seemingly unintentional actions in the hall, were all measured and appropriate.

Those people in the palace who have served King Zhao for so many years are all shrewd and capable.

Since the other party has shown this favor, he must accept it, and accept it solemnly.

Li Lingcheng smiled but didn't respond. Instead, she stepped aside to avoid a half-bow and raised her hand in a gesture of support: "His Majesty is very concerned about you, young master. If you need anything in the future, you can simply send a letter to the palace as per usual procedure. Although I am of low rank, I can still manage to run errands and deliver messages."

This statement, though subtle, is already a statement of opinion.

Zhao Heng understood and nodded, saying, "I will remember your kindness, Prime Minister."

The two exchanged a few more pleasantries, and the atmosphere was quite harmonious. Zhao Heng also kept to himself, only expressing his gratitude and not mentioning anything else in his conversation.

Finally, before boarding the carriage, Zhao Heng turned back to bid farewell to Li Lingcheng. As he looked up, he caught a glimpse of several figures standing on the palace gate and city wall.

One of them, dressed in dark blue eunuch robes, was leaning against the crenellations of the city tower, gazing gloomily in this direction, clearly observing the scene of his farewell to Li Lingcheng.

Despite the distance, Zhao Heng could still recognize that it was Gao Qu.

Zhao Heng had intended to board his carriage and leave, but in that instant, a thought flashed through his mind, and he suddenly called out loudly towards the city gate, "Eunuch Gao!"

Not only that, he also raised his arm, making a gesture to beckon him closer.

The key was that his voice sounded exceptionally clear in front of the empty palace gates in the early morning. The gatekeepers at the palace gates, the soldiers changing shifts, and the drivers of several carriages waiting to pass in the distance all looked over in response to the sound.

Gao Qu on the city wall was clearly taken aback.

He probably hadn't expected Zhao Heng to suddenly call him in front of everyone. A look of surprise flashed across his clean-shaven face, but he quickly became serious, his brows furrowed, and annoyance flashed in his eyes. He simply stood there without moving, clearly intending to pretend he hadn't heard and ignore it.

Gao Qu looked around and saw that most of the people at the palace gate had subconsciously followed Zhao Heng's gaze. Li Lingcheng also turned around and looked at the city tower. His expression was unclear, but it was probably somewhat meaningful.

Further away, the gatekeepers, armored soldiers, and others all focused their gazes on Gao Qu, their curiosity and speculation clearly mixed with a hint of watching the spectacle.

Gao Qu was caught in a dilemma. With everyone watching, he couldn't pretend not to know anything. He could only suppress his anger, walk down the city wall with a gloomy face, and head towards the palace gate.

Upon seeing him approach, a hint of a smile flashed across Zhao Heng's eyes, and he bowed to Li Lingcheng once more:

"Please wait a moment, Magistrate Li. I have a few words to say to Eunuch Gao. My guest has already arrived, so I dare not trouble you to see me off any further. I will remember your hospitality yesterday and your farewell today. If I have the opportunity in the future, I will certainly seek your advice again."

Li Lingcheng readily agreed with a smile, then reminded the young master to be careful on the road before turning back to the palace.

As Li Lingcheng passed Gao Qu, he did not forget to nod slightly to him. Gao Qu snorted inwardly, but could only give a forced response on the surface. Then, he led a few attendant eunuchs to Zhao Heng's carriage.

He waved for his attendants to stop a few steps away, then stepped forward himself. Without even looking at Luan Ding and his companion, he narrowed his eyes and asked in a stiff tone, "Young master, what brings you here?"

Zhao Heng simply stood on the carriage and beckoned to the man: "Eunuch, come closer and speak."

Gao Qu's face darkened further, but recalling the scene of Zhao Heng staying overnight in the palace and dining with the King of Zhao last night, and seeing that he seemed to have a secret to tell him, he ultimately had to restrain his impatience and take half a step closer, considering Zhao Heng's current momentum.

He wanted to see what this brat was up to.

Then Zhao Heng leaned over and whispered something very quickly, in a voice that only the two of them could hear.

"Your Excellency, guess what my uncle will think I said to you later?"

The moment he finished speaking, Zhao Heng straightened up and took a step back with a smile.

Gao Qu remained listening intently, his face still blank, clearly not understanding the meaning of the words. When he saw Zhao Heng laugh, he even unconsciously chuckled twice, looking rather comical.

"In that case, Eunuch Gao, it's settled then!"

Seeing his expression, Zhao Heng laughed heartily, giving him no chance to react, and immediately raised his voice, saying, "Heng, then we await good news from Eunuch Gao!"

His voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for people within a few feet to hear faintly. After speaking, without waiting for a response, he simply bowed to Gao Qu, then turned around, lifted the carriage curtain, and bent down to enter the carriage.

"Return to the residence."

Although Luan Ding and Ji Cheng did not understand why, they acted immediately upon hearing the order. Luan Ding and Ji Cheng jumped onto the carriage shaft together, flicked the reins, and the carriage immediately started moving slowly away from the palace gate.

Gao Qu remained rooted to the spot, motionless for a long while.

He was still pondering Zhao Heng's two seemingly random whispered words, unable to grasp their deeper meaning for the time being.

Before he could even process the first provocative whisper, the second, louder voice, seemed to have finalized an agreement with him.

What does this mean?

After the carriage had traveled a short distance, he looked around blankly and saw armored soldiers on the city wall leaning over their halberds to look down; the gatekeeper at the palace gate was still holding bamboo slips in his hand, but had forgotten to register them; several servants who had gone out of the palace to make purchases that morning also stopped pushing their carts and kept looking in this direction.

Gao Qu's expression suddenly changed drastically. He abruptly turned his head to look in the direction Zhao Heng's carriage had gone. But the carriage had already traveled nearly a hundred paces and was far away.

"Grandpa..." A low-ranking eunuch whom he had adopted as his godson approached, lowered his voice, and asked mysteriously, "Are we going to get in touch with Lord Chunping's household? But back when Lord Chunping went to Qin, we were..."

"idiot!"

Gao Qu was so angry he was practically spitting fire, veins throbbing on his forehead, but he only dared to suppress his rage and shout, "I've been tricked by that brat! This is a scheme to sow discord, a show for others, to make Young Master Yan suspicious of me!"

At this point, Gao Qu was startled.

He suddenly looked up and glanced around. Several gatekeepers, seeing him looking at them, hurriedly lowered their heads and pretended to be busy. The armored soldiers on the city wall also turned their gaze away, feigning to patrol.

Gao Quxin's heart sank. He knew that explaining now would only make things worse.

Zhao Heng's move was clumsy, but it struck right at his Achilles' heel. Gongzi Yan was inherently suspicious and jealous; if he were to hear of this…

He dared not think any further.

With a sharp flick of his sleeve, Gao Qu ignored the eunuch, his face grim, and turned to stride quickly into the palace. He needed to find a way to clarify the matter to Prince Yan as soon as possible, so his pace quickened, and the hem of his palace robes almost flew up.